Frontier Town, the saga of the roaring west.
Frontier Town.
El Paso, Cheyenne, Calgary, Tombstone.
Frontier Town.
Here is the adventurous story of the early west, the tamed and the untamed.
From the Pecos to Powder River, Dodge City to Poker Flat,
these are the towns they fought to live in and lived to fight for.
Teeming crucibles of pioneer freedom.
Frontier Town.
Frontier Town.
Frontier Town.
Howdy.
My dad Remington's a name, occupation frontier lawyer from the little cow town called Dos Rios.
Advocation? Well, although I don't go out looking for it, I certainly get a lot of trouble dragged to my doorstep.
I must admit I don't mind too much cleaning it up.
You know, out on the frontier things are pretty new, pretty rough and ready.
Although the land is rich, it sure needs water and plenty of it to keep it going.
In fact, in some places, water rights and the control of water is sometimes worth the price of a kingdom.
To show you what I mean, let's take what happened not too far from my home town in another little saddle stop called,
believe it or not, Dry Gulch Springs.
Water over in Dry Gulch became very valuable, as valuable as the price of men's lives.
The trouble all started one day when two men, described in my book as motley,
saunted into the Gilded Cage Cafe and sat down at a table, just as Lulu, the cafe entertainer, was ending a song.
I know my love is gone, my own true love, my own true love, died with his boots on.
Hey Rick, it's a good thing we wanted in here.
Now, Burke, what do you mean?
That gal, that singer, we can use her.
Well, I sure could.
Look, nothead, I'm talking business.
You go over and introduce yourself to Miss Lulu.
Yeah?
Yeah. Then tell her I want to see her. I'll be waiting for both of you up at the shack.
Oh, but boss, if I...
You can't do as you're told. I ain't got all day.
Now get moving.
Now look, Lulu, I ain't going to waste your time giving you a lot of conversation.
You're a good-looking woman, and I can see you've got brains.
Am I supposed to do? Thank you.
I'm not making no bones about it.
The crowd I represent can use you, and we'll pay for it. Pay good.
Now you're starting to sound interesting. Who's this crowd?
It's a company, see? A water company.
Uh-huh.
You see, another outfit's got the franchise to build a dam up here at Dry Gulch.
According to the franchise, they've got to finish before the 15th.
But they don't. Well, my crowd gets the franchise.
Does that got to do with me?
Plenty. When I saw how all those men over at the Gilded Cage went for you,
I just got the notion that the construction gang working for the other water company
would do the same thing if you made it your business to see that they quit work.
Hmm. So that's the way your song goes, huh?
You want me to get the men working on the dam to quit?
Sort of like the Pied Piper of Hamelin.
In this case, it might be the Pie-eyed Piper, and you've got the pipes to do it.
Mr. Burke, there's just one teensy little thing you haven't told me yet.
What do I get out of this?
Well, let's say 10,000?
Let's say 30,000. It has a nicer ring to it.
What are you trying to do, fold me up?
Better quit bargaining, Mr. Burke, because I've got an idea this other water company
would pay me 50,000 for the information you've just given me.
Why, you little...
Has 20,000 got a nice ring to it, too?
Well, it don't ring like the Liberty Bell to me, but...
Okay. You just made yourself a deal.
Now you're talking.
Hey, Rick, give me a bottle of something and a couple of glasses.
Lula and me are gonna...
Don't get nothing yet, Rick.
This deal's not closed until I got 10% of that 20,000 in cash.
Well, as I said before, that's how it all started.
The first that I knew of it, however, was when Jim Underwood, who had the franchise
and was building the dam, let out a whoop for help that I heard all the way over to Dos Rios.
So I went to Cherokee O'Bannon, who used to be a medicine man and now owns the Dos Rios
livery stable, and on the promise of introducing him to Lulu, the beautiful singer,
prevailed upon him to provide the horses and ride along with me.
A day later, Cherokee and I were closeted with Underwood and the little shack that served
as an office on the dam construction job.
And this is about the whole story, Chad.
My men are quitting work like there was a plague up here.
Say now, is there some sort of an epidemic?
I'm willing to make you a very extra special price on some of my genuine Cherokee Indian
rattlesnake oil in quantity.
Look, O'Bannon, all you're getting out of this trip is an introduction to a redheaded singer
named Lulu.
Chad, I've got less than three weeks to complete this job.
At the rate they're work stopping, it won't be finished for three months.
Jim, I'll do what I can, but this is sort of like looking for one particular grain of sand
on 50 miles of sea.
What are you talking about?
I've seen that girl up here myself twice.
Oh, I don't mean finding the girl.
Chad, are you intimating that you intend to cross me up?
No, Cherokee, I'm intimating that the girl's no great problem.
The trick's gonna be to find the men behind her, the men who are paying her to disrupt the work.
Don't tell me you really mean that, Chad.
Who else could there be behind it except this other outfit, the one that tried to get the
franchise before I got it?
Granton, you're right.
Now, I'm not saying that you aren't.
Thinking they're behind it and proving they're behind it are two entirely different things.
Yeah, I suppose that's so.
Say, I've got an idea, Chad.
Why don't you introduce me to the girl, and then when she succumbs to my manly charms,
which take no time at all, I'll worm all the facts out of her.
You're just the kind of worm who'd do it, too.
You don't like my idea.
Well, to be polite about it, no.
Now, what we've gotta do is...
Yes, sir, here, what is it?
You told me you'd let me know the next time that redheaded gal showed up.
Well, she's here now.
It's quite nice of her to cooperate this way.
Don't go giving her the credit I got her up here.
Simply proves the efficacy of a man never giving up hope.
Jim, I think we'd better walk out on the job and see what the young lady's up to.
All right, Chad, let's go.
Well, it was about a hundred or so yards from the office to the job itself, and the walk
down there gave us a pretty good chance to observe Miss Lulu.
I don't mind saying she was well worth observing.
I sure couldn't blame the men for gathering around her.
The face was a little hard, but pretty.
She was round in just the right places.
I don't know if she spoke extemporaneously or not, but she certainly put up a highly convincing argument.
They say the payroll was on was held up.
Of course they say the payroll was on that coat.
That gal's right. Why should we go on working if we're not going to be paid?
Listen, man, that's nothing but a ball-faced lie.
Will you call me a liar, William Underwood? Why, you blasted...
Jim, look out!
What's the matter with you, man? Anyhow, you're gone out of your heads.
Mr. Underwood says the payroll's going to get here, then you're going to be paid.
He's the man who should know.
I don't know who you are, mister, but I agree with you.
Mr. Underwood should know.
That's the whole trouble with him.
He doesn't know anything about what's going on.
And maybe you can explain just how you happen to have advanced information on the payroll being stolen.
Information of that kind should be interesting only to a sheriff or another water company.
Is that so? Well, which kind are you? A tin-horned sheriff?
Madam, if you'll pardon the formality, permit me to introduce myself, and then I'll introduce you to Mr. Remington. My name is...
Cherokee, let's skip the social amenities and face a few facts.
First, you want to know if I happen to be a sheriff, miss.
Would it make any difference to you if I were?
Yeah, it might.
I don't think jail would be so bad if I had a good-looking, curly-headed six-footer like you to...
to see that I was locked up every night.
That's a good one, Chad. She certainly...
Oh, I guess it was with that. She was trying to make a fool out of you.
Would that be so hard to do?
Probably not.
I'm probably foolish standing here and talking to you about something as ridiculous as this rumor you're spreading around here to stir up trouble.
Rumor, my eye. I'm telling you, boys, there'll be no payday for you.
And I'm telling you, there will be!
Are you gonna take this woman's word for it or believe Mr. Underwood?
Now, look, man, you've been on this job three months or more and you've been paid every week, haven't you?
All right, then. Go on back to work.
And if payday doesn't roll around, remember, they got laws in this state to see that a man gets paid.
As far as you're concerned, Miss, I think it'd be a lot better for you if you started back to town.
All right, Curly. But if you get down to town, look me up.
A man who's as persuasive as you are in broad daylight ought to be really something at night.
Come on, Curly. What I just told you is no idle rumor.
And I do believe you swept the little lady off her feet.
I'd sure like to sweep her off her feet and put her where she belongs.
In your arms?
No, in jail.
In jail is just where she belongs.
Jim, where'd you say she worked in town? What was the name of that cafe?
Gillett Cate. Why?
Because if you don't mind riding along with us, I'd like very much to go into Dry Gulch, see just what sort of birds actually flutter around inside the Gilded Cage.
The more I think about it, the more incredible it appears that a young woman of such excellent and satisfying stature would willingly lend herself to so nefarious a scheme as you and Mr. Underwood have outlined.
Sir Cherokee, I'm afraid you're confusing what's inside of her with what's outside of her.
Deed I am, deed I am, and what outside she has.
And that, mister, is your big trouble. You're always confusing your point of view.
I am?
You sure are. When it comes to beverages, you're only interested in pouring them into your own insides.
When it comes to the ladies, you switch around and you're interested in-
Billy Blue blazes, Chad. Underwood's been shot.
Cherokee, come on. Down off that piece of buzzard bait.
Well, I saw where that shot came from and it makes a pretty good aiming point.
Look at them run, the yellow-souled vultures.
Here, Cherokee, give me a hand.
Looks as if Underwood's pretty bad hurt. Gotta get him to town to the doctors. Once we get him there, we're going to the Gilded Cage Saloon and tear a few bars out of it.
Till we get this thing settled once and for all.
We'll return to the second act of Trouble is His Target, our exciting Frontier Town adventure in just a few moments.
Howl of Funny
And now Frontier Town.
Well as I said, a lot of troubles have dragged to my doorstep.
This one was about the worst yet.
First if Underwood's company lost the franchise and the other crowd got it, they would have
had the ranches around Dry Gulch over a barrel.
A water barrel, which would probably be worth its weight in gold.
Second, although trouble is sort of a specialty with me, woman trouble is something I steer
away from.
And finally, it must have been a pretty low down crowd of cutthroats to cold bloodedly
shoot Jim Underwood out of his saddle just because their little cooked up payroll story
had failed.
Well making as good time as we could with a badly wounded man across the saddle, Cherokee
and I got Underwood to the doctors in Dry Gulch and then set out for the Gilded Cage
Saloon.
It was quite a place.
A lot of guilt and fancy paintings, fair road tables, roulette layouts, it seemed to have
everything.
Everything that is but a sense of decency.
Cherokee and I walked in and stood looking around the saloon.
Quite a place Chad, quite a place.
Quite a place.
Ah, that's quite a bar, business hat my dear old friend.
Now look my dear old friend, don't you dear old friend me, we're in here on business.
Their business is dispensing of beverages, so I say turn about and spare a plate.
Let's make a few purchases from their business and then we'll set out on our...
Nothing doing Cherokee.
Jim Underwood almost dead, my mind's not on anything but our business.
Come on.
Say bartender.
Yes sir, how'd it be mister?
For the time being just a little information, who runs this place and where can I find him?
Dutch Alberg, he's the owner.
His office is down there in the back.
Anything else?
Cherokee, come on.
Run in.
Yeah boys, I'm going to get you some beer.
Yeah boys, what is it?
You Dutch Alberg?
I am.
Well my name's Chad Remington, my friend here and I are looking for a little information.
What's on your minds?
Well you've got a singer working here haven't you, a girl by the name of Lulu?
So what?
Well that doesn't seem to quite answer my question.
What's wrong with you?
On the prod for trouble?
I'm in too much trouble now to be on the prod for any more.
I want to, I mean we want to find out about this Lulu woman.
Well you're not alone, so do I.
I'm afraid that answer's a little too cryptic for me.
Does the girl work here or not?
She didn't, but not anymore.
Chad, she's flown the coop, or I mean our little pigeon has flown the gilded cage.
Cherokee, will you just take a deep breath and simply hold it?
What happened, did you fire her?
You fire a gold mine?
Wolfberg, why is it so difficult to get a direct answer from you?
Look, my friend, I don't hanker after that kind of talk and I don't like that tone of
voice.
I don't care what you like or what you don't like, I'd like a few answers.
Unless of course you got something to hide.
You are on the prod for trouble, aren't you?
I wasn't when I came in here, but if you think clearing your holster is the kind of answer
I'm looking for, go ahead, scratch leather.
You're pretty salty, aren't you?
Just salty enough to skin you and put you away so you won't spoil.
Now look, Wolfberg, I didn't come in here for an argument and I still don't want one.
So get the hump off your back and behave.
Let me tell you something, mister.
Anytime anyone mentions that Lulu's name around me lately, I start seeing red.
After all the money I paid her, she walks out, leaves me without even saying so long.
Oh, where'd she go, do you know?
Two jaspers come in here a few days ago and one of them went back to her dressing room
to talk to her.
And I ain't seen her from that time to this.
Who were they?
Had you ever seen them before?
No, but I'd sure like to see them again.
You mean they were strangers?
Yeah, yeah.
They looked to me from the way they were dressed like they were railroad men or something.
Railroad men?
What do you mean?
Oh, you know, wore laced up boots and them hats with the narrow brims.
You've seen fellows like that, haven't you, hanging around railroads?
Yeah, they sound like construction men.
And construction men are the kind who'd want to get hold of that dam.
You mean the new dam up in the hills?
Just bet we do.
With a little help from you, Dutch, we may be able to close my case and get your silk-like
soprano back for you.
Now, come on, let's sit down and talk this thing over.
Well, after Dutch got over having his back up, we found out that Miss Lulow had been
or posed as being the apple of his eye.
He was most anxious to get her back, and on our promise to help him, he told us what he
knew.
He gave us a fairly accurate description of the two men who later turned out to be Burke
and his gun-toter, Rick.
With that description to go on, we went over to talk to Mr. Underwood at the doctor's house,
where fortunately he was resting pretty comfortably.
Chad, from that description, I'd bet my bottom dollar that the little one's Burke and the
big one is his bodyguard, a fellow they call Rick.
Well, then though we still have a long way to go, we've proved one point, that the men
who employed the girl do work for the crowd that wants to get the franchise away from
you.
This is decadery and the lowest tide.
And a poor girl like that consorting with villainous characters.
Well, Chad, I guess the thing to do now is to tell what little we know to the sheriff.
You do what you want, Jim, but I think you're being a bit premature.
What do you mean?
As far as I can see, there's no possible way of ever proving Burke's connection with the
only thing so far, which is actually a crime, shooting you.
Well, then what do you hope to do?
So my way of thinking, the thing to do is to arrange things without Mr. Burke's prior
knowledge so that if he's really the crook in the sand pile, we'll be on hand to catch
him in the act.
Arrange things?
What kind of things, Chad?
Look, Jim, the doctor told us before we came in that you were still a pretty sick gent,
not to talk to you too long.
So now that you've told me the name of Burke's little outfit and, well, providing you'll
give me a blessing, Cherokee and I are going out to arrange this little set of circumstances
before it's much, much too late.
Chad, I sure wish you'd let me in on what you're gonna do.
Docs, Jim, he hasn't even told me yet, and I'm his landlord.
Well, fellas, here's the way it is.
If I told Cherokee he'd waste so much time asking questions, we wouldn't get through
till the 15th of next month.
Dirty dig, Dad.
And if I told you, Jim, well, you might not give me a blessing.
Then when Burke puts you out of business, I'd have a client who couldn't pay his fee.
So under those circumstances, I think the old Bannon and I had better be off and running.
Well if I sounded confident, I really wasn't inside.
Or maybe I should have been like Cherokee, interested only in the outsides.
Well, the idea I had was as loco as any anyone had ever had, but knowing that if I turned
Cherokee loose in dry gout, he'd find Miss Lulu if she were within 500 miles of the town,
I turned him loose with instructions and with a message.
Lulu, a woman of your fragile beauty needs a man around, a man like me to protect her.
Uh-huh.
Go on, tell me more.
Well, a man to protect you.
I already told you that, didn't I?
Yes, you did.
Sounds like a speech you might have learned.
A speech, you say?
Let it go, let it go.
Now as big and handsome as you may be, old Bannon, the kind of protection a gal like me
needs costs money.
You got a lot of it loose.
Have I?
Well, I'm filthy.
Filthy rich, I mean.
Rolling the stuff, you know.
Yeah, yeah.
And where does it come from, honey?
I promise you won't tell a soul.
I promise, across my heart.
Well, Chad Remington and I are getting a $10,000 fee from Mr. Underwood for bringing in his
last wagon train of supplies for building his dam.
Half of that fee belongs to yours truly.
Oh?
And what is this wagon train coming in?
I mean, when do you collect this money, you big protective man?
Yeah, it's a secret, but I'll tell you tonight at nine.
Where are you going, Lulu, my beloved?
You just wait here for me, honey.
I've got to see a friend.
And I'll be back soon.
Just you wait here.
Well, I'll be a prohibitionist.
Chad was right.
Little Miss Lulu fell for it.
Little Miss Lulu sure did fall for it.
She thought Cherokee was just a big chump, and I'm here to tell you he's far from it.
He got away with that bit of acting and made it stick.
Now, while Cherokee was playing Mr. Moneybags to Miss Lulu, I was out on the other part
of the mission.
I rode 20 miles and back and arranged for the wagon train.
Everything went as slick as a greased rabbit in an oil well, and just before nine o'clock,
Cherokee, the sheriff of Parsi, and I reigned up on a hill looking down on Dry Gulch Valley.
The moon was a burnished silver dollar, and in its pathway of painted light, we could
see the road, the wagon road, all unrolled on the canvas below us.
Do you see anything, Sheriff, for you, Chad?
Road looks deserted to me.
Well, the wagon train will be here on the dock.
Don't you worry.
I do see something in that chaparral down there.
From here, it looks like a man called Burke and a dozen gunslammers.
I do believe there comes the wagons.
Well, in that case, we ought to be hearing a few reports from other sources, almost any.
Right, Sheriff, Burke's fallen for it.
Let's get to riding.
That's it, boys.
Now let's go get him.
Well, maybe you did get me, but then we ain't gonna finish that damn on time.
We'll lose the franchise anyhow.
Them wagons of his were smashed to bits.
Yes, the wagons were smashed to bits, Burke, but the timbers and stuff destroyed didn't
belong to Jim Underwood.
They belonged to your crowd.
What?
You loco or something?
He's far from loco, Burke, my good man.
Only a brilliant genius like Chad Ramington would ever have thought of going to your camp
and filling the wagons with your supplies.
So sorry, Mr. Burke, but little Miss Lulu was your downfall.
Why, you double dealing.
Oh, Curly, how could you do this to me?
The judge will explain it all to you, Lulu, in due time.
And in your case, the due time ought to be about 20 years with a few months off for good
behavior.
If you know how to behave, good.
Okay, Sheriff, they're all yours now on charges all the way from holdup concealed weapons
right through the book to attempted fraud by posing like a lady.
Why, you big- Come on, Cherokee, before she falls on my
neck and chokes me.
So long, fellas.
And Lulu, if you really need to protect her, the warden has lots of them.
Don't tell her.
Get up there, boy.
Let's get home.
Okay.
Frontier Town starring Tex Chandler and featuring Wade Crosby is a Bruce Ells production.
It's a story in direction by Paul Franklin, music written and played by Ivan Ditmars.
Be sure to be with us again same time next week for another fine action adventure story
with your favorite young western star Tex Chandler.
This is Bill Foreman to tell you that Frontier Town came to you from Hollywood.